by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College rebounded from its first softball loss of the season in impressive fashion Tuesday.
Blanked 5-0 by North Central in the first game of a doubleheader, the Blue Devils combined the 4-hit pitching of Shannon Greene with a 10-hit attack in an 11-1 5-inning win ended spectacularly by a grand slam home run by Allison Kasick.
The split sets up two more home doubleheaders this week – Maple Woods Thursday at 1 p.m. and Iowa Central Friday at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils will also host State Fair next Tuesday at 1 p.m. before going on the road for the first time March 2.
A freshman from McLouth, Greene gave up a run in the first on a single and double but allowed only two more hits the rest of the way, both with two out in the fourth inning.
“Shannon was very effective in spotting her pitches,” said KCKCC coach Kacy Tillery. “She struck out two, walked none and needed just 60 pitches, 44 of which were strikes.”
Kasick, a freshman designated hitter from Basehor-Linwood, opened the scoring in the first with a run-scoring single and ended the game with her one-out bases-loaded home run in the fifth. The grand slam came after the first seven hitters to come to the plate reached base. Shortstop Candice Jennings, also of Basehor-Linwood and the only Blue Devil to have more than one hit in the game, doubled in the inning while Mikaela Hoffart, Amy Grace-Wilson, Shannon Brown. Kaylynn Smith and McKenzie Hersh each singled before North Central could register an out.
Megan Sumonja pitched five shutout innings in the opener before North Central broke the 0-0 deadlock on a walk and a two-out double in the sixth and then added four runs on four hits in the seventh before reliever Megan Mason came on to get the final three outs.
Jennings also had two hits in the second game to raise her season’s batting average to .636. Hoffart doubled for the Blue Devils’ only extra base hit while Wilson and Natalie Cowan collected the other KCKCC hits.